Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill (Money) (No. 3)

I was seeking to make the case for why this expenditure represents value for money, Mr. Deputy Speaker. It is £1.20 per elector in the country. It is not correct to say that the issue has not been the subject of great consideration over many decades, as I will point out in my speech on new clause 88 in a moment. The truth is that a system of eliminating ballots is used by the Conservative party under its constitution, and it amounts to an extended form of the alternative vote. It is also used for the election of hereditary peers—a system that the Conservatives sought to defend less than two weeks ago. [Hon. Members: ““You set it up!””] No, the House of Lords set up the system of elections, and the Conservatives have actively supported it. I have checked and checked again, and never once have the Conservatives at the other end of the corridor suggested that the first-past-the-post system should be used for the election of hereditary peers.